Vegas serves up indulgent Thanksgiving dinners

Just because you’re on vacation in Las Vegas during the Thanksgiving holiday doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in traditional food. Many restaurants on the Strip offer classic Thanksgiving meals with all of the fixings. Or if you’re looking for something a little more non-traditional, you can find some pretty interesting twists on turkey and mashed potatoes, too.

Here’s a list of some of the places where you can indulge in a Thanksgiving feast in Las Vegas this year:

Pumpkin pie at Tender

Executive Chef Saul Ortiz puts a Mexican spin on the traditional turkey dinner with the creation of the Turkey Tinga Enchiladas and Turkey Tinga Torta available exclusively during the month of November at Tacos &Tequila inside Luxor Hotel and Casino. Tinga is a traditional preparation style in which shredded meat is sautéed with tomatoes, onion, garlic and chipotle adobo. Priced at $16, the Turkey Tinga Enchiladas are a savory combination of slow braised turkey, chile pasilla sauce, Oaxaca cheese blend and crema fresca. The Turkey Tinga Torta, priced at $13, is made with slow braised turkey, chipotle aioli, lettuce and tomato served on fresh bolillo bread. For dessert, the restaurant will offer a pumpkin pie shooter mixed with Patron XO, Bailey’s Irish cream and Goldschlager, priced at $9.

Twin Creeks Steakhouse at the Silverton is serving a three-course menu that includes smoked duck breast salad or roasted butternut squash soup, free range turkey with a foie gras stuffing, sage giblet gravy, Yukon gold mashed potatoes, haricots verts and cranberry pear relish. Guests can also choose between a pumpkin cheesecake or a strawberry trifle for dessert. Cost is $45 per person.

The Silverton’s Sundance Grill features a Thanksgiving menu that begins with a choice of soup or salad. Entrees include a choice of prime rib, oven roasted Tom turkey and salmon all served with traditional Thanksgiving fixings: green beans almandine, apple sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes with giblet gravy, bourbon sweet candied yams and cranberry orange relish. For dessert, guests can choose between pumpkin or pecan pie. Cost is $18.95 per person.

Pumpkin pie shooter at T & T

The El Cortez Hotel & Casino offers a delicious Thanksgiving feast with dining specials at both The Flame Steakhouse and Café Cortez on Nov. 22. The Flame Steakhouseoffers a meal for $19.95, which includes a tossed green salad with choice of dressing or roasted butternut squash soup, roasted turkey, giblet gravy, sage dressing, mashed potatoes or candied yams, cranberry sauce and a vegetable medley. Dessert includes a choice of pumpkin cheesecake or apple pie.

Café Cortez features a meal priced at $12.95, which includes a tossed green salad with choice of dressing or roasted butternut squash soup. Dinner is one of two options. Option one includes fresh roasted turkey, giblet gravy, sage dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and green beans amandine. Option two is baked Virginia ham, brandy/pineapple sauce, sweet potatoes and green beans amandine. Guests have an option of fresh baked pumpkin or apple pie for dessert.

On Thanksgiving Day, Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegasis offering a prix fixe dinner menu. Begin with a choice of endive and blue cheese salad or fresh oysters on the half shell with apple mignonette. The second course features the choice of smoked salmon or hearty butternut squash and apple soup. The main course is herb roasted turkey with Jack Daniels gravy, garlic and sage bread stuffing, sweet potato gratin, haricots verts, potato puree and cranberry-jalapeno relish. Dessert options include pumpkin bread pudding or pecan and chocolate tart. The cost is $45 per person plus tax and gratuity.

Ranch House Kitchenat Town Square Las Vegas will serve a meal for the whole family on Thursday, Nov. 22. Diners are invited to feast on hickory smoked turkey, gravy, winter vegetable medley, stuffing, sweet potato mash, cranberry sauce and a corn muffin. Priced at $18.95 per person, the menu is sure to satisfy the entire family. Patrons can also watch all the Thanksgiving Day football games on Ranch House Kitchen’s 50 HD-TVs, including the Houston Texans versus the Detroit Lions, the Washington Redskins versus the Dallas Cowboys or the New England Patriots versus the New York Jets.

In honor of Thanksgiving, pastry chef Hank Sbraccia has crafted a twist to traditional holiday cranberry with his creation of cranberry gelato available on Thursday, Nov. 22, at Trevi inside the Forum Shops at Caesars. The new flavor is made from a combination of dried cranberries, vanilla gelato, a cranberry juice reduction and simple syrup. The festive gelato will be priced at $4.50 per scoop.

Rice & Companywill celebrate Thanksgiving by putting a twist on traditional holiday favorites with the Thankful Dumpling, available throughout the month of November at Luxor. The dumpling is made with tender duck breast, cornbread stuffing, dried cranberry, onion and celery wrapped in a soy sheet and topped with crispy sweet potato, micro celery and cranberry-yuzu sauce. The festive dumpling is priced at $12.

Guests can give thanks at Sugar Factory American Brasserie inside Paris Las Vegas with a special Thanksgiving prix fixe menu on Thursday, Nov. 22. The traditional Thanksgiving spread will include sliced turkey breast served with giblet gravy and cranberry sauce, and all the fixings including: chicken apple sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes and a Parker House roll, priced at $34. For dessert, patrons can sink their teeth into a slice of pumpkin pie, priced at $9.95, or Sugar Factory’s signature pumpkin pie cheesecake, served with vanilla ice cream, garnished with clove anglaise and pumpkin seeds and topped with caramel sauce, priced at $10. Also on the menu will be Sugar Factory’s signature Spiced Apple Pie cocktail, made with Stoli Gala Applik, Schonauer Apfel, apple juice, rock candy syrup and garnished with a red apple slice and cinnamon, priced at $10, as well as the Cranberry Cinnamon Pie cocktail, a sweet blend of Licor 43, Nutella Liqueur, Stoli Vainilla, apple juice and cranberry juice, garnished with cinnamon and cranberries, priced at $10.

Thanksgiving dinner at Sugar Factory American Brasserie

Pasta Cucina at Palace Station, Boulder Station, Texas Station and Sunset Stationwill take an Italian twist on the holiday with a special meal, priced at $9.99. The meal includes herb rubbed turkey, Italian sausage and pine nut dressing, roasted garlic and chive whipped potatoes, Tuscan sweet potatoes, balsamic roasted asparagus, house made orange cranberry relish and pumpkin pie cheesecake.

Austins Steakhouse at Texas Station will serve aspecial dinner including traditional herb marinated slow roasted turkey with homemade dressing, a choice of mashed sweet potatoes or Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, haricot verts and cranberry sauce. Dessert is a choice of pumpkin or deep dish apple pie. The cost is $17.99.

Sonoma Cellar Steakhouseat Sunset Station will be serving roasted Tom turkey with pomegranate gravy, roasted vegetable stuffing, candied yams, mascarpone mashed potatoes and vegetable medley with a choice of pumpkin cheesecake or pecan pie for dessert. The cost is $17.99.

PBR Rock Barwill serve Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 22. The meal includes hickory smoked turkey, gravy, winter vegetable medley, stuffing, sweet potato mash, cranberry sauce and a corn muffin. Diners can purchase this meal all day, priced at $18.95 per person. Guests are also invited to indulge in the eatery’s seasonal pumpkin pie and apple pie milkshakes, priced at $9.95. As another Thanksgiving tradition, football enthusiasts can watch all the games on the Strip-side destination’s 105 HD-TVs.

Guests looking for a more adventurous Thanksgiving feast can enjoy some creative spins on customary holiday cuisine.Sage at ARIA reinvents the hot fudge sundae by replacing the usual vanilla with sweet potato ice cream and topping it with Sage caramel and malted milk foam.

Nine Fine Irishmen at New York-New York will introduce new flavors this Thanksgiving with Guinness-glazed turkey breast and chicken apple sausage stuffing.

At Bellagio, guests can find a creative way to eat stuffing inside cannelloni along with cranberries, turkey ragu, butternut squash puree, pecorino toscano and turkey jus atOsteria del Circo. Over atSensi, a traditional Butternut Squash soup appetizer will be served with a twist of ingredients such as soy caramelized kabocha, crispy bacon and smoked popcorn.

It’s not that warm in Minnesota. I know this from spending half my life freezing in the northern part of the state. So 20 years ago, I decided to thaw out and traded in scarves and mittens for tank tops and flip-flops (Take that, polar vortex!). I swapped snow for 300 days of sun a year. I may not have been born here, but there are hotels that haven’t lasted in Vegas as long as I have. The Sands, Hacienda, Aladdin, Desert Inn and the Stardust too. I've been to my fair share of implosion parties. (Yeah, that’s a thing.) As a writer for Vegas.com, I've applauded hundreds of shows, explored every major hotel in town and raised a few glasses at most of the city's bars and clubs. Now I'm the resident foodie here. I write about all things dining — from $3.99 shrimp cocktail at the Golden Gate to the finest sushi at Nobu, and everything in between.